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AUGUST 2020 U.K. £4.99 DOWNBEAT.COM AUGUST 2020 VOLUME 87 / NUMBER 8 President Kevin Maher Publisher Frank Alkyer Editor Bobby Reed Reviews Editor Dave Cantor Contributing Editor Ed Enright Creative Director ŽanetaÎuntová Design Assistant Will Dutton Assistant to the Publisher Sue Mahal Bookkeeper Evelyn Oakes ADVERTISING SALES Record Companies & Schools Jennifer Ruban-Gentile Vice President of Sales 630-359-9345 [email protected] Musical Instruments & East Coast Schools Ritche Deraney Vice President of Sales 201-445-6260 [email protected] Advertising Sales Associate Grace Blackford 630-359-9358 [email protected] OFFICES 102 N. 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POSTMASTER: Send change of address to: DownBeat, P.O. Box 11688, St. Paul, MN 55111–0688. CABLE ADDRESS: DownBeat (on sale July 28, 2020) Magazine Publishers Association. Á 4 DOWNBEAT AUGUST 2020 AUGUST 2020 ON THE COVER Terri Lyne Carrington conducts a clinic at the 2016 Next Generation Jazz Festival in Monterey, California. 18 Terri Lyne Carrington Jazz Artist, Jazz Album, Jazz Group BY PHILLIP LUTZ The drummer and bandleader, ©MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL/CRAIG LOVELL who topped three categories in the Critics Poll, discusses Waiting Game, the acclaimed album she recorded with her band Social Science, and reflects on the motivation that drives her work as an educator 18 and activist for social justice. FEATURES 22 Jimmy Heath Cover photo of Terri Lyne Carrington shot by Steven Sussman. Hall of Fame BY DAN OUELLETTE 24 Carmen McRae 5-Star Review 5-Star Review Hall of Fame +++++ +++++ BY TED PANKEN 25 Mildred Bailey Hall of Fame BY JOHN MCDONOUGH 26 Ambrose Akinmusire Trumpeter of the Year 46 Bill Frisell 47 Alexa Tarantino 48 Frank Sinatra 52 Jonathan Barber BY MICHAEL J. WEST 27 Joey DeFrancesco Organist of the Year DEPARTMENTS BY SUZANNE LORGE 8 First Take 54 Transcription 28 Steve Swallow Sam Newsome Electric Bassist of the Year Soprano Sax Solo BY J.D. CONSIDINE 10 Chords & Discords JIM HANON 56 Toolshed 30 Spotlight on Rising Stars BY STEPHANIE JONES 12 The Beat 60 Jazz On Campus 32 Complete Critics 62 Blindfold Test Poll Results 43 Reviews Kirk Whalum Kirk Whalum 6 DOWNBEAT AUGUST 2020 First Take BY HERB BOYD JOHN ABBOTT CHRISTOPHER DRUKKER Regina Carter James Carter An Expression of Urgency FIRST CAME THE CORONAVIRUS AND absolutely indispensable for us musicians.” then the killing of George Floyd, his neck fatal- But being apart hasn’t kept musicians from ly compressed under the knee of a Minneapolis collaborating. James’ son—16-year-old James police officer. For Black Americans, a conver- Carter Jr.—recently participated with classmates gence of plagues compounds disappointment and faculty in a virtual spring concert for his and outrage—a double whammy. Detroit-area high school. “Being on ‘lockdown’ and glued to the news “You sit in front of your computer,” James during the pandemic, the world witnessed a speck said, explaining the process, “with a PDF of the of the systemic racism that Black Americans music and a click track for you to play along with. face, daily,” said violinist Regina Carter from her Your clip is delivered to the webmaster, who then home in New Jersey. “Examining and discussing assembles the finished product. I felt sorry for America’s ugly history over the last 400 years is him and his fellow bandmates ... To miss con- extremely difficult for some, but there is no other tributing to the blend of his sax section is a feel- choice; George Floyd was the last straw.” ing that can’t be duplicated.” Multireedist James Carter echoed the urgen- Irreplaceable, too, is the financial compensa- cy expressed by his cousin and a multitude of tion for lost gigs. There are instances, Regina others demonstrating in the streets around the said, in which you have to return the advance, world. “It’s good to see so many young people, if the date is canceled or postponed. “These are especially white Americans with Black Lives some very tricky endeavors,” she said. Matter signs, in the demonstrations,” he said. Always evident in the music of these cousins “The pandemic, poverty and the police have bru- is a deep regard for jazz history and tradition. tally assailed the Black community.” Both have devoted albums to outstanding musi- No place or profession is immune to the cians of the past, be they Billie Holiday, Ella coronavirus pandemic or disparities based on Fitzgerald or Django Reinhardt. And they both race. But setbacks are not defeats for these two were saddened to learn of the recent deaths of musicians, whom I’ve known since they were Wallace Roney, Lee Konitz and Ellis Marsalis, coming of age in Detroit—Regina when she was all of whom succumbed to COVID-19. It’s a list a member of the all-female ensemble Straight of lost lives and talent that was taken from the Ahead and James when he was with the youth world too soon. ensemble Bird-Trane-Sco-Now! Both are as tal- For this writer, after weathering the turbu- ented as they are resilient, and though at the lent 1960s, today’s spasm in reaction to police moment they can’t perform together—as they brutality is a case of déjà vu. These recent—and have on numerous studio dates—the pandemic very public—transgressions by law enforce- has put them back in touch. ment are uniquely exacerbated by a relentless “When James called me about sharing my pandemic and an unrivaled economic crisis. thoughts during this bleak period, it was an But like the Carters and the rest of our jazz opportunity I welcomed,” Regina said. “This is community, we need to continue to cultivate a good way of reconnecting, something that is and support a common human resiliency. DB 8 DOWNBEAT AUGUST 2020 Chords Discords Message of Social Justice In the light of the protests in sup- port of Black Lives Matter, one track on Orrin Evans’ The Intan- JOHN ABBOTT gible Between stands out. Evans’ masterful blend of Andrew Hill’s “Tough Love” and two poems paints a vivid image of the injus- tices suffered by Black Americans Orrin Evans at the hands of the police. In John McDonough’s Hot Box review in the July issue, he re- fers to the poetry within the piece as “various spoken digressions by Evans” that “get in the way, leaving the whole piece torn in two directions.” The narrator of “Love Poem,” written by John Holiday, declares he will do anything possible to make life better. In the rec- itation of “Yo! Bum Rushing the Door” (by Todd Evans, aka Son of Black), the narrator is the voice of love overcoming hate to “sober up justice.” He exclaims, “I already know Black Lives Matter, and it matters to me that the young brothers in the street know this, too.” My concern is not with the reviewer’s 3-star rating, or his slant on the tunes and the playing within. But considering this song’s mes- sage, to brush off the narrative—without even briefly mentioning the context—is disappointing, to say the least. PAUL RAUCH SEATTLE Black Lives Matter As a fan of your online presence, I couldn’t help but notice the lack of posts supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and addressing the historic protests that have swept this country over the past few weeks. I have also noticed a similar type of silence from many of the jazz and blues clubs that I have been a patron at.